The disease spread from the awakening of frozen 'zombie bacteria' in either a reindeer carcass or human corpse due to the warm summer and thawing permafrost.

The first aerial pictures of the burning of infected reindeer carcasses showed the major military operation underway to halt the spread of an outbreak that has killed one person, a 12 year old boy, and left 115 in hospital.

The operation to destroy 2,349 reindeer that died from anthrax is being carried out by the Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Units of the Central Military District.

Major General Valery Vasilyev, of the Chemical Corps of the Defence Ministry, said: 'We are building up our capacity every day. We have developed the technology of destruction of dead animals. It is carried out in two steps.

'The first is the creation of a high-temperature combustion field that guaranteed to kill anthrax. The temperature which destroys the spores is 110 degrees Celsius, more safely 140-150 degrees Celsius.

'We are bringing the temperature up to 400-500 degrees Celsius. And after burning we disinfect the area with bleach. It is the second blow to the anthrax, guaranteed to destroy it.'

'We are building up our capacity every day. We have developed the technology of destruction of dead animals.'